Waitlist & cancellation fill — Fill a cancelled slot from your waitlist before it goes empty
Waitlist and cancellation fill keeps a list of people who want an earlier time. When a slot opens, it texts the best matches and books the first who accepts. Staff don't have to work the phones every time a client cancels.
By Julia Ja, Owner
Cancelled: Fri 11:00 color
Filled- Dana · color, Fridays workOffered 7:52 am · told the slot was takenTaken
- Priya · color, Fridays workReplied yes 8:02 amBooked 11:00
- Mel · color, Fridays workOffered 7:52 am · told the slot was takenTaken
Why it matters
The problem it solves
Cancellations rarely come at a good time. A client cancels the evening before, and the open hour is lost unless someone fills it fast.
Most offices keep some kind of waitlist, but working it means calling one name at a time. Many calls go to voicemail. By the time someone calls back, the slot has passed or someone else has it.
Example · illustrative
A salon on a Friday morning
- At 7:50 am a client cancels her 11 am color appointment by text.
- Three clients on that stylist's waitlist asked for color and said Friday works.
- All three get a text offering 11 am.
- The second one replies yes at 8:02 and is booked, and the other two are told the slot was taken.
How it works
How waitlist & cancellation fill works
- Starts whenAn appointment is cancelled or moved
- 1Step 1Find matchesThe waitlist is checked for people who need that service, with that provider, at that time of day.
- 2Step 2Send the offerMatching clients get a text offering the slot, in the priority order you set.
- 3Step 3Book the first yesThe first client to accept is booked, and the others are told it's taken.
- A person decidesApprove the tricky onesSlots that need a judgment call, like a long procedure or a new patient, wait for staff to approve.
Before · by hand
- Cancellations leave gaps in the schedule.
- Staff call down a paper list one name at a time.
- By the time someone says yes, it's too late to fill the slot.
With waitlist & cancellation fill
- Open slots are offered as soon as they appear.
- Several clients hear at once, and the first yes gets it.
- Staff step in only for slots that need a decision.
What we build
The parts of waitlist & cancellation fill
Your systems
- Twilio
- Open Dental
- Dentrix
- Mindbody
- Square Appointments
- Google Calendar
What we build
1Waitlist sign-up
A way for clients to join by text, online or at the desk, with the service, provider and times they can do.
2Opening detector
Watches the calendar for cancellations and moves, and checks how long each open slot is.
3Matching rules
Picks who gets the offer by service, provider, slot length, notice and the priority order you set.
4Offer and booking
Sends the offer, books the first yes, and tells the others the slot is taken.
5Approval queue
Holds offers that need judgment, like long procedures or new patients, until staff approve them.
Your team decides
- Staff approve offers for long or complex appointments.
- The business decides who gets priority on the waitlist.
Industries it fits
What waitlist & cancellation fill looks like in each industry
Dental practices
A cancelled crown appointment is offered to patients waiting for that procedure with the same dentist. Hygiene openings go to patients who said they can come in on short notice.
Everything for dental practicesYour industry isn’t listed, or works differently? Describe it and get an answer in a minute.
Getting started
What you need first
We go through these with you in the audit, before anything is built.
Before we start
5 things to have ready- A booking system the automation can read and, ideally, write to.
- A way for clients to join the waitlist, and their consent to get offers by text.
- Rules for priority: first on the list, longest wait, most flexible, or a mix.
- Decisions on which services can be filled automatically and which need staff approval.
- A minimum notice for offers, so nobody is offered a slot they can't reach in time.
How a rollout runs
- 1Map the openingsWe look at which appointments cancel, how much notice usually comes, and which services are worth filling.
- 2Build the listWe set up how clients join the waitlist and move any existing list into it.
- 3Connect and set rulesWe connect the booking system and set the matching, priority and approval rules with you.
- 4Test the raceWe cancel test slots and reply from several phones at once, to check only one person gets booked.
- 5Go live with reviewStaff watch each offer at first, and we adjust priority and notice rules from what they see.
What to measure
How to know it's working
Weekly report · waitlist & cancellation fill
IllustrationCancelled slots refilled
The main measure: how many gaps were filled from the list.
Time from cancellation to booking
Shows whether offers go out fast enough for short-notice gaps.
Offers sent per filled slot
Many offers per fill means matching is too loose or the list is stale.
Waitlist size and age
An old list full of people who already booked elsewhere gets few replies.
Offers held for staff approval
Shows whether approval rules are too strict to fill gaps in time.
We measure the baseline before building, so the change can be compared afterwards.
When it’s not a fit
- It needs a real waitlist. If few clients want earlier times, there's nothing to match.
- Some very short-notice gaps won't fill, however fast the text goes. Set a minimum notice.
- If the booking system can't be written to, staff have to enter the booking by hand, which adds a delay.
- A stale list wastes offers. Clients who booked another time should come off the list automatically.
Tool or custom build
Do you need a custom build?
Option A · a ready-made tool
An off-the-shelf tool may be enough
Mindbody and Weave include waitlist or quick-fill features, and many class booking tools do too. They work well when their priority rules match how you want to fill slots.
Option B · built around your systems
When a custom build is worth it
A custom build is worth it when you need your own priority rules and slot-length checks. It also fits staff approval for some services, or offers across several providers.
Not sure which fits?
What it typically costs
Typical ranges as of October 2026. Not a quote.
Ready-made tool, set up by us
An existing platform on your own account, configured for your business.
- Setup, one timepaid to Lorryn
- $750–$1,500
- Tool subscriptionpaid to the provider
- $15–$75 / month
Fits when your process matches what the platform already does.
Custom build
Built around how you work, with no platform subscription. You own it.
- Build, one timebasic version to full version
- $2,000–$5,000
- Running costshosting and usage, on your accounts
- ~$10–$50 / month
Fits when your systems, rules or exceptions don't match a ready tool.
Optional Automation Care: $125 · $250 · $375 / month
1, 2 or 3 hours of support a month, with monitoring and alerts included. Without it, you run it yourself after handover.
Typically works with Twilio, Open Dental, Dentrix, Mindbody.
Booking into or writing to your field-service, practice or shop software adds up to $500 to the ready-made tool (often a built-in feature) and $500–$1,500 to a custom build.
Your price depends on volume, the systems involved and how many exceptions need a person. Our team confirms a fixed price before any work starts.
Proof and who stays in charge
Who does what
The automation does the routine steps. A person makes the call.
- 1Find matchesAutomated
- 2Send the offerAutomated
- 3Book the first yesAutomated
- 4Approve the tricky onesA person
Consent and privacy
Offers go only to clients who asked to join the waitlist by text. Each says it's automated and offers STOP.
FAQ
Questions about waitlist & cancellation fill
You set the order: first on the list, longest wait, most flexible, or a mix. Staff can move people up when needed.
The first reply gets the slot. Anyone who replies after gets a polite note and stays on the list.
It checks the slot length against the service. Slots that don't fit cleanly go to staff to decide.
It works with booking systems it can read and write, like Open Dental, Dentrix or Mindbody. With some systems, staff confirm the booking by hand.
Each person only gets offers that match what they asked for. They can leave the list at any time by replying STOP.
Yes. Declining or ignoring an offer keeps them on the list for the next opening.
Yes. We move the paper list into the system once. After that, new names are added by text, online or by staff.
Related use cases
Often built together
- SchedulingAppointment remindersSends appointment reminders by text or email and lets clients confirm or reschedule with a reply.
- SchedulingOnline self-bookingLets customers book, reschedule and pay online from your live calendar and booking rules.
- Team & HRStaff schedulingDrafts staff schedules from availability and demand, sends them out, and fills open shifts.
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